Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Adnan Abu Amer
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Hamas and recognition: goals and cautions
The clampdown on Hamas continues: despite some clear sky here and there, the demands are the same; recognition of Israel as a Jewish state in exchange for recognition of the movement’s legitimacy. It must choose between staying in power by recognising Israel or abandoning its democratic mandate as a punishment…
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Herzliya Conference outlines Israeli concerns
This year’s Herzliya Conference in Israel was held amid the state’s fears of the rapid political changes in the region. This prompted the organisers to invite many Israeli officials and international figures to attend, including European prime ministers and senior officials in international economic institutions and organisations. Herzliya is considered…
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Hamas needs to build a broader political future in Egypt
It is no secret that Hamas was happy for Dr. Mohammad Morsi to win the Egyptian presidential elections. The source of most of its regional strength lies in Cairo, allowing the Islamic Resistance Movement to live through a “honeymoon” period after the fall of the Mubarak regime, which was hostile…
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Why is Israel pursuing released prisoners in the West Bank?
If Israel could go back in time to October 2011, it wouldn’t have gone through with the exchange agreement with Hamas and released 1,000 of their detained senior members, returned 111 detainees to their homes in the West Bank (45 of which are in Jerusalem), and exiled 163 others to…
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The outcome of the Israeli threats against Gaza
150 days after Israel’s last war on the Gaza Strip, security tension has resurfaced without warning. It comes amid preoccupation with pressing regional issues beginning with the enflamed Syria and Lebanon as it heads toward an eruption. Matters will not end with Iran, which will have to deal with the…
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Gaza on the regional decision-makers’ negotiating table
In light of political developments in Egypt and the international and regional support the coup has received, it has become clear that the United States’ current policy is to support the status quo. This imposes an economic and political isolation on the Gaza Strip which strips it of its legitimacy…
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Is Israel’s strategic position improving in the Arab world?
Nearly a year ago, I wrote a column discussing how many people considered Israel to be the biggest loser in the events of the Arab Spring. Have things now changed? Does Israel now have the biggest advantage? This type of introduction fills those who are opposed to the Arab revolutions…
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The implications of Israeli exaggeration of resistance in Gaza
We have monitored Israeli media for a number of weeks and listened to the opinions of military leaders who considered the tranquillity on the borders of the Gaza Strip to be “deceiving.” They suggested that the discovery of a third tunnel in Ein reveals what Hamas is most preoccupied about…
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Gaza war commemoration reveals Israeli intelligence efforts
When Israel attacked and invaded the Gaza Strip exactly five years ago, its political and military forces realised that its success or failure relied mainly on the accuracy of the intelligence gathered by the Shabak security agency. They also knew that the use of such information is necessary during military…